Ron Cooper sets the record straight

A letter from Ron Cooper to the San Francisco Spirits Competition, explaining the Denomination of Origin for Mezcal, and the correct spelling of Mezcal:

Dear administrators of the San Francisco International Spirits Competition,

Somehow a google search for another matter pointed me to the results the 2009 competition and I was somewhat dismayed and shocked and feel I should bring the following to your attention: NONE of the following spirits (listed below) have the legal right to be considered MEZCAL. They may be called AGAVE SPIRITS as is written legally on their the bottles. However there is an International Denomination of Origin for Mezcal and it may be produced in 7 states only.

I recommend the Competition either change the category (Mezcal, Sotol, Bacanora) to include Agave Spirits or do not include Agave Spirits in their competition.

The following is the Mexican Government's publication on the DO for Mezcal. It is from the "Diaro Oficial". On the date something is published in that document it becomes Law: